The Skyridge boys tennis team finished in third place during the 6A state tournament, earning 35 points. The Falcons trailed Region 3 powerhouses Lone Peak, which earned 57 points, and American Fork with 56 points.
The tournament was held at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on May 7 and 9.
Skyridge earned two silver medals in the highly competitive field, placing second in both the Second Singles and Second Doubles brackets.
In the No. 2 Singles bracket, junior Crew Mandelaris entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. After defeating Jaiden Gudmundson 6-0, 6-0 in the Round of 16 and Davis Smith 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, Mandelaris beat Lone Peak's Jonah Hansen 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. He ultimately fell to American Fork's top seed, Camden Johnson, with a score of 6-1, 6-4 in the title match.
The No. 2 Doubles bracket also saw success for the Falcons as senior Ben Schmidt and junior Jace Peck secured second place. The duo defeated Cedar Valley's Kyson Smead and Boston Fitzgerald 6-1, 6-0 and Lehi's Jack Balle and Foster Revill 6-2, 6-3 before moving to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Schmidt and Peck defeated American Fork's Phillip Steed and Drew Jacobsmeyer 6-1, 6-3. They then faced Lone Peak's Ashton Cahoon and Everett Lee in the championship match. After winning the first set 6-3, the Skyridge pair lost the second set 7-6 (7-4) and the third set 7-5.
Other notable performances included freshman Mack Mandelaris in the First Singles bracket. As the No. 5 seed, he defeated Riverton's James Burton 6-1, 6-0 before losing to Lone Peak's Cache Dowdle 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
In No. 3 Singles, junior Cameron Higginbotham defeated Cedar Valley's Wesley Hunt 6-3, 6-1 and overcame Corner Canyon's Seth Engar 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 before falling to Lone Peak's Levi Johnson 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals.
In the First Doubles bracket, sophomore Michael Sperry and freshman JJ Lewis reached the semifinals. After defeating Mountain Ridge's Tyson Rich and Tyce Olsen 6-0, 6-1 and Davis's Jamis Leishman and Brock Hoagland 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, they lost to American Fork's Sam Fairbanks and Sam Karras 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
With only one senior from the state squad graduating, the Skyridge tennis program is positioned for another season next year.
